


green thumb

by brightclam



Series: she ra exchanges [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Don't copy to other sites, Gen, gardening as a path to healing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 15:50:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17327948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightclam/pseuds/brightclam
Summary: Living in the fright zone doesn't give one much chance to garden. Even so, with a little help from her friends, Adora finds out she has a green thumb.





	green thumb

**Author's Note:**

> This is my secret santa work for @sallenore. I know you didn't want any angst so I tried not to let it get too sad, even though it's hard talking about Adora's past without it being sad. I hope you like it!

\------------

Glimmer is woken up as Adora slides out from under the covers next to her, the hanging bed swaying slightly as she shifts her weight to sit on the edge. Glimmer keeps her face pressed into her pillow, fully intending to go back to sleep. There’s a slight thud as Adora jumps from the bed to the cushion they had placed underneath. She insists it isn't that high and that she can make the jump safely, but Glimmer doesn't want to accidentally hurt herself. It had taken some adjusting to make it possible for Adora to sleep in her bed with her, but she knows her friend always has a hard time sleeping at night. She had offered to have the bed lowered, but Adora had insisted it wasn’t necessary.

Adora getting up during the night isn’t unusual; sometimes she needs to walk off her nightmares or just go to the bathroom. Glimmer is halfway asleep again when the creak of her window being opened jerks her back to waking. She pushes herself up on her elbows to peer over the bowl of the bed just in time to see Adora crouch on the windowsill. Before she can say anything, Adora leaps out into the darkness. Glimmer sighs, weighing the options: is she just going out for a breath of fresh air---in which Glimmer following her would seem annoying and overly concerned---or is she legitimately distressed so Glimmer should follow her to offer support?

She sighs again harder, conflicted. It’s easy to make Adora feel suffocated, but at the same time she can’t get all the times Adora has woken up from horrible nightmares out of her head. Adora tries to act so strong all the time---and most of the time she succeeded---but she is still just as scared as the rest of them. Maybe more so; her memories of her life in the horde are always with her, seething beneath the surface. It’s that thought that finally drives Glimmer out of the warmth and comfort of her covers. She doesn’t want Adora to have to face the horror in her mind by herself. She’s lived that way for years, but she doesn’t have to anymore. 

Glimmer teleports with ease, the familiar pulse of energy within her sparking as she vanishes from the bed and reappears by the window. To her, it feels as natural as breathing, but that doesn’t mean it gets any less amazing with use. She’s careful to stay quiet as she lands; Bow is sleeping peacefully on the bed they’d dragged into the room for him. He wouldn’t be angry at being woken--he’s as eager to help Adora as Glimmer is--but she’d still like to let him rest. He was badly injured in their last battle and she worries about him. She sticks her head out of the window, carefully calculating the next distance before teleporting down to the forest outside.

She pauses, waiting for her eyes to adjust, the soft hum of insects the only sound. Slowly, the forest comes into focus, dimly lit by the occasional phosphorescent plant. The forest thrums with life even at night: small creatures skittering through the underbrush, birds chirping as they roost, the leaves rustling in the gentle night breeze. And there, underneath all the other sounds, the almost imperceptible whispering that gives the woods their name. Bright Moon’s magic is especially strong in the whispering woods, strung through the trees and earth like veins. Glimmer can feel it flowering open for her, welcoming her into the underbrush. 

Even so, she hesitates: the woods can be as dangerous as they are beautiful. The aggressive creatures it is home to and its maze like construction are one of the reasons it’s such a good defense against the horde. Glimmer squares her shoulders, her fists sparking with energy; she is confident in her ability to defend herself. So she steps into the dense underbrush, focusing on the flare of energy where Adora has passed through. The woods respond stronger to her than they do to Glimmer, or even her mother. It must be because of She Ra, but whatever the reasoning, it makes her easy to track.

Adora hasn’t gone far, and must have been moving slowly, as Glimmer has only walked a few minutes when she comes across her. She’s perched halfway up a tree trunk, the bark thrumming happily around her feet as she tries to convince a sleepy toad to jump into her hand. Glimmer smiles as she watches: Adora loves any animal she comes across and tries to woo them, undeterred by their general skittishness. 

Glimmer steps closer, knowing Adora has heard her approach, and takes a seat in the long grass beneath the tree. It’s an old tree, with thick twisted branches and hanging tendrils of moss. Adora looks perfectly at home there, despite the horde uniform shirt she still refuses to get rid of. The toad finally decides it’s had enough and hops away to find tree not occupied by a friendly human. Adora takes the rejection as good naturedly as ever, smiling after it. Once it’s disappeared from view she lets her head fall to rest on a branch and turns that bright smile on Glimmer.

Glimmer smiles back and they spend a moment in content silence, simply drinking in the landscape around them. Then Adora shimmies down from the tree gracefully to take a seat by Glimmer before speaking:

“You didn’t have to get up.”

Glimmer sighs; she’s as selfless as always. She offers her hand to Adora and, when it’s taken, intertwines their fingers. Adora returns the affection by squeezing softly for a moment before leaning in to lay her head on Glimmer’s shoulder. She’s taller so she has to curl in on herself awkwardly, but they settle into the new position easily, wanting to be close to each other. Glimmer sighs happily before responding:

“I know. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Adora laughs, a hint of sadness in it, and presses her face further into Glimmer’s shoulder. Her voice is muffled as she mutters:

“I am, for once. I just wanted to come out here again. It’s so beautiful here.”

Glimmer, grins, her eyes slipping closed. A nocturnal bird sings mournfully in the distance, echoing through the deep woods. 

“It is. I used to sneak out here when I was fighting with my mom all the time. Something about it can calm me down right away.”

She can feel Adora nod against her shoulder, her voice filling with wonder:

“There’s just so much to see. So many plants, so many animals, so many things we never got to see in the fright zone.”

Glimmer can’t help but tense at the mention of the horde; Adora is healing slowly, but that place still reopens old wounds. She tries to offer what comfort she can, even though it’s a scar so large and painful that she doesn’t think it can ever stop hurting.

“You get to see them now.”

Adora hums, rocking slightly the way she does when she’s upset. Glimmer curls into her a little tighter, bringing up her other arm to wrap around her. It takes her a long time to respond, and when she does, her voice is tight:

“It’s just so much to take in. How much I missed out on. How much they kept from us. I almost can’t comprehend it, it’s so much. So much was done to me. To all of us.”

She’s began to shake and Glimmer can hear in her voice that she’s close to tears. It makes her ache for her, ache so deeply because there is nothing she can do to change what has already been done to her.

“You didn’t deserve it. None of you did.”

Adora’s eyes are slick and shining with tears and when she cries, she does it silently. Glimmer looks away from the tears rolling down her cheeks, pulling her into a hug.

“You’re okay, Adora. You’re free now, you can see all the animals and plants you want to. You can do anything you want to.”

Adora sniffles, wiping at her nose before giggling:

“Can I see more horses?”

Glimmer laughs; Adora is still sad, but there’s hope beneath it now. Her past is too much to be ignore, but that doesn’t mean she can’t have a future.

“We can go to the castle stables tomorrow and you can see all the horses you want. Although since the first horse you ever saw turned into Swift Wind, I’m not sure they’ll live up to your expectations.”

Adora looks thoughtful, quickly turning into mischievous:

“Who knows, maybe She Ra can turn all off them into pegasi!”

Glimmer winces as she tries to imagine her mom’s face if every horse in Bright Moon gained wings and the ability to talk. 

“As cool as that would be, I think maybe you better not.”

Adora pouts for a moment before shrugging.

“Well, I suppose Swift Wind would have been jealous.”

“Or he would have led them all to the horse revolution he’s always talking about!”

Adora laughs, falling back to lie on the grass but still carefully holding on to Glimmer’s hand. She breathes deeply, eyes searching the canopy above them. Glimmer stays quiet, content to watch the few bits of starlight that make it through the thick leaves play across her face. Eventually she looks back to Glimmer, her eyes still a bit red from crying, and whispers:

“Thank you, Glimmer.”

Glimmer feels a wave of love for her freind wash over her and she squeezes her hand one last time before pulling her to her feet.

“Anytime, Adora. Now let’s get back to bed, hmm?”

Adora nods and they head back to the castle, swinging their connected hands between them.

\---------

Adora is heading back to their room from a strategy meeting, excited to get to rest. Her shoulders have started aching from all the stress recently and carrying her sword with her all the time doesn’t help. Still, she doesn’t feels safe leaving it anywhere. You never know when She Ra might be needed, especially now that the horde is desperate to take down Bright Moon. She taps her fingers against her sword’s sheath as she walks back, its comforting weight making her feel a bit better.

As she approaches their shared room she can hear loud thumping, like furniture being moved, and furtive whispering that can only be Bow and Glimmer. She frowns, feeling her forehead wrinkle with consternation as she inches closer to the doorway. Maybe they’re trying to hide something from Queen Angella again?

She sticks her head around the doorway and decides to just cut straight to the point:

“Hey guys!”

They both jump, Bow yelping loudly and Glimmer teleporting a few feet to the side in surprise. They both turn to her, smiling with badly hidden embarrassment. Bow manages to respond first:

“Hey Adora! You’re back sooner than you said you would be!”

They’re standing purposely close together, blocking something from view, but Adora can see the legs of an unfamiliar table behind them.

“Yeah, the meeting didn’t take too long. What are you guys doing?”

Glimmer laughs nervously, fumbling with something behind her.

“Actually, we meant to surprise you...so surprise!”

They move apart and wait excitedly for her response. She squints at the table, having trouble making anything out at first. Then the green mass coalesces into a huddle of potted plants of all sorts, some flowering brightly. Adora gasp, mesmerized by their interesting color and unique leaves. She takes a few steps closer to touch one, Glimmer and Bow watching her happily.

“You got me plants?”

Glimmer squeals happily, teleporting closer to look over Adora’s shoulder.

“Yes! Do you like them?”

Adora nods, still struggling to find the words for what she wants to say. The plant she’s touching has soft leaves, pleasant to pet like a small animal. The one behind it has craggy, uneven leaves that look like they can’t possibly be a plant. They’re all unusual and unique, like nothing she’s ever seen before, even in the whispering woods.

“They’re amazing! Where did you find them?”

Bow grins proudly, running his fingers over one of the delicately painted pots.

“Perfuma was happy to help us find the most interesting plants in all the kingdoms, and told us how to take care of them too.”

Glimmer skips across the room, gesturing at the broad windowsills and some new shelves that have been put up.

“We meant to set them up around the room before you got back, but we didn’t have time.”

Then she teleports back to take Adora’s hand, smiling gently as she speaks:

“You liked the woods so much, I thought maybe it would help to have some plants in the room. You can arrange them however you want!”

Adora squeezes Glimmer’s hand and smiles so wide her cheeks hurt. She can’t believe they came up with such a wonderful idea! There’s so many plant’s she’s never even seen before and she can’t wait to learn about all of them. But first, they need to find a home! She lets go of Glimmer’s hand to grab the largest pot, which is full of a young tree with dark, glossy leaves. She circles the room, scanning for the perfect place to put it, before settling on the far corner from the door.

Bow and Glimmer watch her happily as she bustles around, placing plants in every part of the room. The smallest ones she places on the windowsill in a neat row, while other ones hang in long tendrils from hanging planters they had screwed into the ceiling. Finally, every plant has been placed and Adora steps back into the center of the room, biting thoughtfully at her thumb as she looks over her work.

Then she loses all of her seriousness---evidently happy with the setup--- and rushes over to join them on Bow’s bed, asking:

“What do you guys think?”

Bow is smiling his lovely, soft smile as he takes it all in. Glimmer flaps her hands happily, a faint sparkle glowing around her.

“It’s perfect, Adora!”

Bow nudges Glimmer gently with his elbow, holding out a folded piece of paper.

“Don’t forget to tell her Perfuma’s instructions!”

Glimmer jumps up and takes the paper, shaking it open. Fittingly, it’s pink and has little flowers doodled around the edges. Glimmer steps up next to Adora so they can both read the paper.

“So Perfuma wanted to make sure you knew how to take care of the plants once we got them here. They all have different amounts of watering and all that. They’re all full sun of course, there isn’t much shade in here. I can walk you through it if you want?”  
Adora is glad she’s not going into this blind; having never having cared for a plant before makes this a somewhat daunting task.

“That sounds great, Glimmer. But there’s something else...”

Adora fidgets, playing with the hem of her shirt shyly.

“Can I hug you?”

Glimmer, who was beginning to look worried, bursts into a giant smile.

“Of course you can!”

She leaps forwards and wraps her arms around Adora. Adora goes stiff with surprise for a moment before hugging back. Then, with a burst of strength, she lifts Glimmer off the ground and spins in a circle. Glimmer shouts in surprise but quickly giggles, burying her face in Adora’s shoulder. Finally, Adora sets Glimmer down and they smile at each other breathlessly. It’s then that Bow pipes up:

“What, I don’t get a hug?”

Glimmer and Adora share a mischievous look before charging the bed and bowling him over in an enthusiastic double hug. He squawks as he’s knocked onto his back but laughs as they cuddle in close, one on each side. They end up in a gleeful tangle of limbs on his bed, looking out at the newly decorated room. Adora sighs, feeling safer than she ever has, and lets her eyes slip closed.

\------

Bow pushes open the door to Glimmer’s room, instantly feeling better as he enters. The room is full of sunlight and the gentle sound of running water. Glimmer is curled up on her hanging bed, watching Adora lazily, her beautiful singing ringing through the large room. Adora is carefully pouring a pitcher of water into a large flowering vine that has recently began growing up the decorative engraved wall. They both look perfectly peaceful, and greet him with loving smiles as he enters.

He nods hello, not wanting to interrupt Glimmer’s singing, and sets his bow down on his bed. Then he contorts to unlatch the armor over his chest, sighing with relief as its pressure is taken off. He rolls his shoulders and stretches carefully, trying to relax the angry muscles in his back. Then he digs through his drawers, pushing aside his binders to grab one of his soft sleep shirts. By the time he’s changed, Adora has finished watering and is pruning back one of her bushes that is growing overly enthusiastically.

She really has worked wonders with the plants they brought her, even to the point that it impressed Perfuma when she came to visit them. She checks on them every day, carefully looking for any signs of disease or distress. She says that helping something grow, caring for something and keeping it thriving, makes her feel so happy because in the past she was involved in so much destruction. Even being She Ra doesn’t feel like it’s enough to her sometimes, so she works in her ever increasing indoor garden. Bow and Glimmer love the added beauty and life of the plants in their room, and it’s equally wonderful to see her so happy.

Countless times she’s dragged them over to the windowsill to show them a new seedling or the first flower of a young plant, happily chattering on about how she got them to that state and which type of plant it is. Bow is sadly lacking a green thumb, but he loves learning about what she’s doing, so he steps over to watch her prune. She gathers up the last of the small sticks she’s cut off as he approaches and turns to smile at him, a small smudge of dirt on her cheek. He smiles back at her and carefully wipes the dirt off with his thumb as he asks:

“How’s it going, Adora?”

She carefully cleans the blades of her pruning shears before answering and he waits patiently.

“I’m doing great, Bow! Glimmer is practicing for her next concert so I’ve gotten to listen to her beautiful voice all morning!”

There’s the trademark swish of Glimmer teleporting and the sudden lack of singing as she joins them on the floor, gently swatting at Adora.

“It’s really not that good, Adora!”

Adora grins at Bow through Glimmer’s attack and stage whispers to him:

“I’ve been telling her how amazing she is all morning but she won’t listen to me!”

Bow laughs and turns to Glimmer, jokingly stern:

“Ah. Well, I’m sorry to report that Adora is correct; you are unfortunately an amazing singer and a wonderful person all around.”

Glimmer squawks, stopping her attack on Adora to hide her face in her hands, a faint blush peeking through her fingers.

“Aack! Bow, how dare you betray me like this!”

They giggle in unison for a moment until Glimmer reveals her face again, still looking a bit embarrassed.

“Okay, fine. My voice is pretty good.”

Adora looks satisfied and high fives Bow victoriously. She then turns back to the vine to point out it’s brightly colored flowers.

“Look at how well she’s doing! She’s got so many flowers that I was thinking I might cut some and give them to Queen Angella.”

Bow watches her pick up the newly clean pruning shears and begin snipping some of the flowers, careful to catch them before the fall can damage their delicate petals.

“That’s a great idea, Adora! I’m sure she’ll love them. Can I have some too?”

Adora doesn’t turn away from the bush, fully focused on her shearing, but she drops a couple into his outstretched hand.

“Of course! What for?”

Bow smiles, staying silent as he steps towards, carefully tucking one behind her ear, tangling the small stem in with the delicate blond strands of her hair. She laughs, surprised and charmed. He turns back to Glimmer, putting one behind her ear as well. Her eyes shine happily as she lets him place it, watching him lovingly. He takes a step back, looking at them before gesturing happily:

“There! They look wonderful on you two!”

They look at each other before laughing.

“They do, but you forgot something!”

He frowns, suddenly concerned.

“What?”

Adora surges forwards, pushing a third flower into his hair as Glimmer giggles:

“You need one too, Silly!”

Bow laughs, tracing the soft petals happily. They all match now, Adora’s hard work tucked behind their ears. He can’t look away from them, smiling widely as the sunlight pours in the windows and over them. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen anyone as beautiful as they are in this moment, all safe and loving. The words just slip out of his mouth before he realizes he’s saying them, his voice thrumming with the intensity of how much he loves them:

“You know I love you guys, right?”

There’s a long moment of silence as they process and then they’re throwing themselves at him, his arms suddenly full of his happy, squirming friends.

“Aww, Bow!”

“We love you too!”

They almost knock him off his feet but he manages to catch himself with a step backwards, squeezing them tightly. When they’re like this, his friends curled happily around him, everything feels like it's okay. Even with the war outside, waiting for them to come back to reality, he doesn’t mind as long as he has them. They’re his best friends in the whole world and he’s never going to stop loving them.

 

\--------


End file.
